Quote:
Originally Posted by crmalcolm
Whether drivers pick up 25, 55 or even 1,000 place grid penalties is irrelevant. What really matters is how many places they lose compared to their qualifying position.
I also question the validity of the source data - at which events did Ferrari and Mercedes powered cars pick up so many grid penalties???
In that case, the positions lost due to PU changes are as follows:
Honda (69 total)
Vandoorne 28
Button 11
Alonso 30
Renault (62 total)
Kvyat 2
Verstappen 21
Ricciardo 22
Hulkenberg 2
Palmer 4
Sainz Jr 4
Hulkenberg 3
Hartley 5
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In a sporting sense, all that matter is the place they lose. But that's just based on pure luck of where the car qualifies and how many others get penalties. If there were more cars, the penalty would become much more severe. You should judge the system on what it is intending to do, rather than the outcome. You could in theory give the entire grid a 5 place penalty, so nobody loses a slot, and then say the system is worthless because it had no effect, when in reality it just isn't suited to the purpose it was intended. There are also situations where a penalised car moves forward, which means it could be read that the engine is so super reliable that it never failed - which isn't the case.
These stats should be about the average per car or driver, not the total number as it makes the Honda look closer to the Renault than it actually is. These are the averages, based purely on the numbers posted here
Positions penalised
Mercedes - 6 per driver
Ferrari - 10 per driver
Renault - 48 per driver
Honda - 195 per driver
Actual slots lost
Renault - 8 per driver
Honda - 23 per driver